Ascension
by Ashlaloo
Summary: He said they were chosen because they were the smartest of their generation, but why? He said they were to learn to not only establish power but peace as well, but why? There's a reason for why they're here and if it took all the time she had she'd figure it out. She worked too hard in her life to end up trapped in this "test" forever.


Sakura sighed as she fell onto her couch. The last few rays of sunset illuminating her living room. It had been months since the last time she got home before dark so she just laid there, head turned, watching the orange beams dance across her apartment. This was only supposed to be temporary. The late shifts, the rundown apartment, the emptiness. When she came to Konoha she came with the promise of change. New job, new area, new life. Except that wasn't happening. It was just like it had been back in America, France, New Zealand. Once a hospital learned how great she was they used her, she became their best asset which meant long shifts and no time. No time to find a new place other than the ratty apartments she always seemed to start out in. No time to...to live.

Being a doctor was all she wanted to do growing up. So much that when she turned teen she sped through high school in 2 years and started college. Of course no med school would take her in until she was 18, but when that day came she had her pick. Now at 24 she was on her way to becoming the best surgeon in the world, in any specialty. She was already getting multiple calls a week for consults and had been mentioned several times in magazines. This is what she had always wanted. It's what she still wanted but it seemed empty. She felt like she was going everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"MmMM." She grumbled as the light hit something just right and it reflected in her face. Sakura squirmed, trying to find a comfortable position that wouldn't blind he. It wasn't working. She flopped her feet onto the ground and hauled herself up.

"What is this?" She asked out loud, picking up the disk. It was in a paper sleeve with a clear plastic front. Instant recognition flooded her as she remembered. She had gotten the disk in a package one day. The package had a helmet, no not a helmet a visor maybe. Wait, was it a visor? Maybe it was a helmet. Sakura set the disk on her coffee table before opening the coat closet and taking the box out. It was a promotion thing, or at least that's what she thought it was once she saw the gadget. It wasn't something she had ordered and when she tried to contact the sender they had told her she was one of a limited number of people who had received one and they didn't accept returns. The thought of throwing it out crossed her mind many times before she decided on keeping it. Video games weren't her thing, they never had been, but she received it when she first arrived to Konoha and she figured she might use it one day. Either that or it'd make a great gift for someone's son if she was ever in that predicament.

She carried the box back to her coach, flipped on the lamp next to it, and started digging into the box. It was a visor...thing, when she slipped it on it went from ear to ear covering her eyes. The metal it was made of was smooth and black. It almost looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. There were no seams throughout the piece. It was fluid. Looking at it she appreciated it's aesthetics, it was a gorgeous...controller? Helmet? Thing? Putting it aside she looked for a manual and a cord, there had to be a cord. The only other thing in the box was an envelope.

Miss Haruno.

Congratulations on being one the the very few to receive an Ascension module. This is a new piece of technology in which the possibilities are endless. We have only chosen the people who we think can unlock its true potential. You are one of those few. This is a great opportunity for you and us both. The game opens on the autumnal equinox. It will only work on the autumnal equinox. Each module is coded lets us know if it is activated, we will be in contact if you choose to try it out,

Sincerely

Ascension

Only work on the equinox? What so this thing is only going to work one day? That didn't give much of a chance to gather enough info for feedback. Turning her head to the window she gazed out. The rays of the sunset were long gone and the moon was now being drowned out by city lights. It was Konoha..but it wasn't. It was the same sight from every other city she lived it. Every city that had drained her, had caused her to pack up and leave, caused her to never feel at home. And this...this would be the same. Maybe it was time to accept it. Flipping the card over she saw a smaller piece connected. It was the instructions.

All she had to do was make sure the disk was in a DvD player, apparently there was something on it that helped activate the module. Sakura walked back over to the couch, her DvD player was just started to recognize the disk. Slipping on the metal she laid down. The instructions said comfortable position but did recommend a laying position. It felt weird laying there, waiting for a hunk of metal to turn on without a power button, or a cord for that matter. But the paper said it didn't need any of that, it had an on board power system.

"Thank you for trying out Ascension." Sakura jumped at the voice. It was female, that typical female robot voice you hear in the movies. "This disk provides the activation frequency your Ascension Module needs to activate. Ascension a full dive virtual reality system. This means that once your module activates it will direct your brainwaves to sync with the program. This does no harm you and is completely safe. We hope you have an enlightening experience. I will now provide the frequency."

She was right, it didn't hurt. It felt like she was falling, only for a moment.

"You may open your eyes now Ms. Haruno." Sakura eyes snapped open. It was that robot voice. Was that it? Was that the whole thing? Feel like you're falling? And how did that DvD know her name? "If you do not open your eyes I cannot verify that you have completed the full dive successfully and therefor verify that your Ascension module is fully functional."

Sakura opened her eyes, she wasn't in her living room anymore. She was in a silver room. A silver room that had nothing but a very generic blonde woman in a white business dress in front of her.

"Very good Ms. Haruno. Now I will instruct you through a few various tests. Just to make sure your brainwaves are in sync. Touch your nose with your right index finger." Sakura did.

"Take a step." Sakura did.

"Jump." Sakura did.

"It seems that your Asension module is preforming flawlessly. Now you will be able to take the next step in your avatar creation. Ascension is a fantasy game you will be asked to choose your primary and secondary profession. There are no races in this game, you, along with everyone else testing our their own modules will appear to be human. You may now choose your professions."

*A fantasy game. Well it could be worse.* Sakura blinked as a holo screen appeared in front of her. She raised her hand to touch it and it felt solid. As she scrolled through she began to see how the game was broken down. It seemed as though there were 3 classes; Tank, Defender, and Warrior. Each of them were broken down into various professions. There were so many different avenues you could choose. Taking the time to look Sakura decided to become a defender. There was an Empath profession which focused on healing, providing HP to allies. It was close enough to her job for her to be comfortable in the role. The secondary profession needed to balance out the first. She needed something with damage.

"You have finished." The lady said staring at her. "You will now walk through this portal. It will take you to the world of Ascension." The lady raised her left hand a Sakura had to squint at the bright blue light that started to swirl 10ft in front of her. It looked like a vortex.

She hesitated.

"You will have to face fiercer things than this portal in Ascension." Sakura looked at her. She was so life-like but not at the same time, it was unnerving. Taking a deep breath she began walking towards the swirling vortex of doom. "Good Luck Sakura Haruno. You will need it." Those were the last words she heard before she walked through.

Sakura gasped when she found she could catch her breath. She found herself staring around herself. She was in a courtyard surrounded by a city, but it wasn't a city, at least not the kind she was familiar with. It reminded her of one of those movies she'd watch with her mother based in the middle ages but it wasn't as dreary. The sun was shining and people were happily going about their business. They were in bright, crisp colors clothes. Nothing like the dirty browns she was used to from the movies. As she was looking around she could see more and more people appear from portals. She imagined she had looked just like them as they began to gaze at the city around them.

~Wait~ Sakura thought as she kept seeing more and more people appear. This was too many. Too many to be a coincidence. More and more people were appearing at once and she wasn't the only one who was noticing. ~What the hell is going on?~ Before she got the chance to think anymore on the matter the ground started the shake and the once sunny sky became dimmer. She could hear the people around her become concerned.

A screen appeared directly above them and she didn't like who was on the other side. She'd seen him before, it was hard to forget that face. He was the one of the U.S government he was in charge of the military. He appeared on the television often, even though he never exactly said much. And she wasn't the only one who seemed to recognize him. People all around started talking among one another. The screen flickered until the signal was clear.

Hello

My name is Hatake Kakashi. I will save you the details of exactly what it is I do. I'll tell you why you're here listening to me. Right now there are 2,346 of you out of the 2,500 modules sent. You were chosen among the entire human population. You are perceived to be the smartest of your generation. That matters. There's a threat coming and we need to weed through those who can and those who cannot. That is what this game is about. Let me get down to it. You cannot log out of this game. It was mentioned to you that each Ascension module was coded to let us know when it was activated. Right now military personal are on their way to collect your real world body and bring it to a disclosed location. If any of you live with family or any other person they will not be told why your body is being collected, they will also not be harmed so you do not need to worry. We will keep your bodies alive. They only way out of this game, this simulation, is the reach the end of it. Do not get the wrong idea. This is nothing more than a test. It's designed to test every bit of your mental abilities. We need to know what you can do what you're capable of. There are no rules to this game other than to get to the end. This is an open environment meant to test your ability to not only establish power but to keep peace. There is a catch, if you die in this game your real world body dies. We needed to give you an incentive to actually try. With this each of you have been given a free respec. This allows you to re-choose your primary and secondary professions. Re-choose them wisely with what you think will get you and everyone else to the finish line. You must work together, no one is going to save your but yourselves.

Sakura kept staring up at the sky long after the screen with Kakashi's face disappeared. There was an uproar around her as people started to freak out, they were all trying to log out. Panic was spreading and if it wasn't dealt with it would turn to chaos and chaos brought danger. What should she do? Should she try to calm people or should she run? Get to a safe place to assess the situation? Trying to calm people was the right thing to do but she..she didn't know how to calm so many. If it was just a few she was confident she could but.

~No~ If this was true, if what Kakashi said was true they were each chosen for a reason. Her's was obviously her prowess as a doctor and doctors didn't take control of large groups of people. This wasn't her problem. She'd allow someone with more experience take the wheel. For now her job was to make sure she'd be around to pick up the pieces when needed. Choosing her path carefully she snaked her way through the crowd. She started to run when she heard a scream, it was starting. Her priority was to stay alive until she could figure out what the hell was going on here.

 **You've probably guessed that this fanfiction was inspired by SAO. The only similarity is the virtual reality game, that's it. The story is much more than just a game people get trapped in.**

 **If you enjoyed it I'd love to know, if you didn't...hell I'd like to hear that too. Any feedback is good feedback :D**


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